The FSSAI has issued a Gazette notification on “Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Eighth Amendment Regulation, 2018 related to standards for Natural Spring Water. The draft for the proposed amendment was published on 12 October 2017 and objections, comments and suggestions had been invited from stakeholders. After taking into consideration the objections and suggestions received the FSSAI has now amended the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.

Eighth Amendment Regulations, 2018 will come into force with effect from the date on which they are published in the Official Gazette. The amendments have been made in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, in the regulation “Beverages (Other than Dairy and Fruits and Vegetables based) in the category of “Mineral Water” (2.10.7)

Previously there were no standards for natural spring water and now the FSSAI has added the standards for this category of drinking water

Natural Spring Water

Natural spring water has been described as natural mineral water which is derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth at an identified location. Spring water shall be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. There shall be a natural force causing the water to flow to the surface through an orifice.

The product shall conform to the standards for mineral water as specified in the tables in the regulation with regard to

However, the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) content for natural spring water will be different and it will be as follows

“TDS of the product shall be not more than 750 mg/litre”.;

About Natural Spring Water

Natural spring water is called pure natural water because it is collected from underground sources. The bottlers of natural spring water collect the naturally alkalized water directly from its source, bottle it and sell it in the market. Spring water is not altered and neither are there any additions because it is often advertised as clean, pure and healthy water as received from nature. Most natural spring water bottlers source this water from the mountains where it collects in underground springs from rain or snow. Since it seeps underground through several layers it gets filtered and is considered to be the purest form of water. However, natural spring water also needs constant testing to ensure that it is free from contaminants and bacteria.